Kootenai County Sheriff Questions Cost, Value of KCRASU Helicopter Program

When a shooting and fire broke out near Canfield Mountain on June 29, 2025, Kootenai County's aerial asset was unavailable. ABLE1, the helicopter operated through a partnership with the county sheriff's office, had been grounded since the previous September, and Spokane County had to send its own aircraft to fill the gap. The incident crystallized a months-long debate over whether the program represents sound public safety spending or an expensive liability the county can no longer justify.

ABLE1 is a 1994 Bell Textron TH-67, originally designed as a U.S. military training aircraft and visually similar to a Bell 206 Jet Ranger. It is owned by the Kootenai County Regional Air Support Unit, known as KCRASU, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, not by Kootenai County or the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office. The program was founded by KCSO Lieutenant Mark Ellis, Aspen Homes pilot Todd Stam, and Detective Jerry Northrup, and became Idaho's first law enforcement air support program when county commissioners unanimously approved a formal KCRASU-KCSO partnership in March 2023.

The aircraft cost approximately $500,000, funded entirely through private donations including five contributions of $100,000 each from individual donors and a $200,000 contribution from the Coeur d'Alene Tribe. Under the partnership, KCRASU covered maintenance and insurance while Kootenai County contributed $10,000 per year, the same amount it had previously paid Spokane County for helicopter access under an earlier contract.

Between August 2023 and September 2024, ABLE1 participated in 140 incidents, including 14 search and rescue operations, with its last recorded law enforcement activity on September 12, 2024. Among its most notable deployments, the helicopter used its infrared camera and 22,500-lumen Trakkabeam searchlight to locate 70-year-old Pam Wigle and her dog Hedy on Fourth of July Pass after Wigle went missing in September 2024. Ellis told county commissioners that "two families are attributing the helicopter to saving their loved ones' lives."

The grounding stemmed from gaps in workers' compensation and liability insurance coverage identified by county officials. Sheriff Norris acknowledged the program had identified "an area of the workman's comp insurance that we could do better in." New insurance estimates presented to commissioners placed the annual cost between $46,000 and $53,000. Commissioner Leslie Duncan described the increase as "quite high, in the $50,000 range," and said that "if it's out of our price range, then the program goes away." Commissioner Bruce Mattare requested detailed operational data before the county commits to any path forward.

In October 2025, KCRASU proposed donating ABLE1 outright to Kootenai County, which Duncan said could make the arrangement "more legally defensible and easier to manage." Mattare remained cautious.

The program drew sharp scrutiny during the 2024 sheriff's race, when challenger Dan Wilson labeled it "the crooked helicopter program," pointing in part to more than $100,000 in civil asset forfeiture funds spent on equipment installed on an aircraft the county did not own. Norris, who has held office since January 1, 2021, won re-election in November 2024 with 68.9% of the vote against three challengers.

Whether the county will accept the KCRASU donation, absorb the higher insurance costs, or revert to contracting with Spokane County remains unresolved more than 18 months after ABLE1 was grounded.